Hamilton speaks up: Recently published Letters to the Editor

As a kid growing up I never thought terrible things happened to people I knew. I thought that violence and mental health issues were only in the movies, and could never happen to me or people in my community.

Although now I am more aware of reality, I still refuse to believe the world is a bad place. I still believe most people are good, and I think you should too. Although I know that we might never completely overcome brutality, I know we can make an impact, especially in our small close-knit community.

Here are a few random acts of kindness I dare you to do throughout the month.

1. Give someone a compliment

2. Pay for someone's coffee

3. Donate toys to kids

4. Volunteer

5. Send someone flowers

6. Bake cookies for your neighbor

7. Leave a generous tip at a restaurant

8. Call a family member just to say hi

9. Let someone merge in front of you in traffic

10. Smile at a stranger

We live in the last best place, so let's keep it that way and spread kindness.

The term “moral rectitude” has appeared more than once on this page in the last few weeks. Presumably a person of moral rectitude has high moral standards — is honest in word and deed, strives to be fair, cares about others, keeps promises, does not cheat, does not destroy property, is responsible and dependable, treats others as s/he wants to be treated, etc.

Presumably the people who use the phrase believe that they have high moral standards and want to support people and institutions that do, too.

The world would rejoice if the next president of our country, of whatever party, gender, or color, were a person of moral rectitude. Think it’s a test?

It is apparent that our presidential administration and legislators must seek common ground to solve the current southern border illegal immigration problem.

Unfortunately, liberals in Congress are not showing any indication that they believe illegal immigration is a really significant problem and must be resolved sooner rather than later! One can only speculate as to why liberals are unwilling to act.

Perhaps it is past time to reject those liberals in the very next election cycle, since it appears to be the only reasonable alternative.

Free press is when all opinions are voiced and expressed. The majority of the press today is little more than the propaganda wing of the Democratic Party. All one has to do is look at the last election debacle. Hillary Clinton, while the guilt or innocence can be debated, was given a pass on many numerous infractions of law; immunity from prosecution was handed out like candy at a Halloween party, while prosecution for the Trump campaign was used to get him any and every way conceivable — which, by the way, continues to this day.

The press is supposed to report on all newsworthy events in an unbiased manner. That is not conveyed at all! To the contrary, anything that can be reported to the detriment of the Trump administration is, and any events that show the administration in a positive light is suppressed.

Think of how great our country would be if all this energy could be used in a positive manner? Freedom of the press? How about freedom of all Americans, not just the ones of this or that political persuasion.

Mueller’s testimony to Congress made it clear: it’s time for an impeachment inquiry. Hearing Mueller describe the extent of Trump’s crimes and corruption in his own words convinced me that Congress can no longer stand idly by.

Mueller did not exonerate Donald Trump — not by a long shot. His investigation found extensive criminal activity and resulted in 37 indictments and at least 7 convictions or guilty pleas, including Trump’s national security advisor, personal lawyer, and campaign chairman.

Mueller uncovered over 100 secret meetings and communications between Trump’s team and Russia and their cronies — and found at least 10 episodes of obstruction of justice by Donald Trump, in which he tried to bury the truth.

Obstruction of justice is a serious crime. If anyone else did what Trump did, they’d be in jail. Mueller made it clear that the Department of Justice prevented him from indicting Donald Trump. That’s why it’s up to Congress to hold him accountable.

No one is above the law in our country, not even the president.

That’s why it’s time for our representative and the rest of Congress to take action to hold Trump accountable by moving forward with a formal impeachment inquiry.

Doing nothing will only embolden Trump to continue breaking the law and will set a dangerous precedent for our democracy. That’s not the America I know.

Some of the damage Trump has already inflicted is going to be permanent, so let’s stop him from doing more harm to the Earth.

I watched the Democrat debate last week that included Gov. Steve Bullock. He came across as needing more practice in debating, as he fumbled a bit and tried to rant like some of the others. He has his work cut out for him.

We are living in dangerous times, when people in power encourage the radical right to hate and even kill anyone of a different race or belief, when we have Russians putting out fake videos and stories to attack the opposition running for office. For instance, the one-minute video on Facebook put out by Ted Nugent. making it look like it is Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib when in fact it is not her.

We can expect more and more lies put out by the Russians and social media. These lies have a purpose: to support the takeover of our country by thugs, both from the U.S. and Russia. Be careful what you take as the truth, use common sense.

Last year at the county fair I observed lots of kids having fun at a venue called “Young Guns.” My first impulse would be to want something entertaining to be without guns. However, the fact is that guns are a part of our western culture. Lots of parents hunt, target practice, or carry one in the back country for bear or wild cat protection.

This entertainment at the fair included Hillary, the western cowgirl, dressed in her buckskin and boots, cowgirl hat to complete the look. “Hillary” interacts with the children as they have hands-on activities which is, in my opinion, a dwindling skill, sadly. There were about three or four activities as I recall and about six kids were there interacting in various ways and conversing. When the ride going kids used up their tickets, they had another choice of where to spend their time.

For some reason, our powers that be at the fairground have chosen not to hire “Young Guns” this year. I’m a teacher and know kids well. There will be some disappointed faces when that spot has someone else in it. I wonder if it’ll be an interacting hands-on fun experience for our young people. Hillary will be missed.

Last week President Trump conned the media into talking continuously about what he said to four Congresspersons. Meanwhile, the EPA upon his orders registered for use a new insecticide called Sulfoxaflor, a bee-killing compound similar to the notorious neonicotinoid insecticides. In addition, the EPA was told to take use restrictions off of the insecticide, Chlorpyrifos (Dursban). Exposure damages children and farmworkers, so was banned for most uses. Birth defects on children exposed as a fetus to Chlorpyrifos included defects of the brain, eyes, ears, palate, teeth, heart, feet, nipples and genitalia.

The leading cause of infant deaths in the U.S. is birth defects, accounting for 20.1%. There is a growing body of evidence that agrichemical exposures may significantly contribute to birth defects.

Imidacloprid, the neonicotinoid shown to kill invertebrates and most vertebrates, including large mammals, is especially concerning and should be banned immediately, as should Chlorpyrifos. Roundup, implicated in causing cancer and known to kill non-target plants and animals, should be banned immediately. All the toxins mentioned kill bees and cause birth defects on vertebrate young, human newborns included. Does anyone care?

What part of “all men are created equal” do we not understand? Today, because of changing word usage, it clearly means “all human beings are created equal” — not just Americans, not just white people, not just educated people, not just rich people.

Are we blocked by fear? Fear that “they” will take what we have or what we think we deserve?

Then there’s that other quotation: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you” (Matthew 7:12), aka “Treat others the way you want to be treated.” If we don’t, why should they?

The ball is always in our court — that is, it is always right to do the right thing first and set a quiet example for our children, our friends, everyone.

In the past two weeks, we see they are now at the head of the line objecting to trump’s racist, cruel, amoral etc. policies.

Thank you to the Rabbis of Montana speaking out together. Thank you to the Catholic priests and nuns who were removed in handcuffs from a peaceful protest by Catholics, I think in Illinois.

Thank you to the Methodist and Lutheran churches who have spoken out against Trump’s vile racism and barbaric treatment of children.

Thank you for the efforts of religious organizations trying to help children and infants trump is holding in cages, even causing the deaths of at least seven children who died from treatable diseases., like flu.

Thank you to the members of one Jewish community in California who locked arms, surrounded an ICE facility, chanting “never again.”

I will never again ask “Where are the churches?” Many are speaking out nationwide, denouncing the evils of the Trump administration. I encourage those churches that remain silent to join in this collective national rejection of evil and join in the movement to restore the decency that most Americans once strove to embrace.

Wednesday’s July 24 edition carried a short article headlined, hiking trails in good condition,” as reported by Nancy Brown from the Corvallis Adult Ed Hiking program. Although I know she is reporting on trail conditions in that context, the headline is very misleading. The Bitterroot National Forest hiking trails are far from being in “good condition.” Two examples; the Camas Creek trail, to Camas Lake, a close by, popular hiking route looks like a bomb went off on parts of it and the Little Rock Creek trail is in the same if not worse condition. I would use the word horrible to describe this hike to another beautiful lake. Recently, I hiked in the Mission Mountain Wilderness as well as on the Beaverhead National Forest. The trails on both of them were well maintained with excellent water control across the trail, brushed out and had beautiful stream crossing built as needed. The Bitterroot has a long way to go regarding trails, trail maintenance and having a good inventory of hiking trails that are in “good condition”.

There has always been some corruption in government, from Washington DC right on down to the local school boards. We all see political authority in a little different light. I have been an attorney since 1955 and I never thought we would see political authority the way we see it today.

I am ninety-one years old, but I learned when I was a youngster that telling the truth was the only way to live. Telling lies was not wise because you needed to remember them. Your brain can only remember so many before they clutter your thinking and lie replicates lie and soon you can’t remember any of the tales you have told.

Donald is a consistent liar. He has told thousands of lies and he makes no effort to remember them he just lies on and on and on. His apparent secret dealings with Putin will some day be exposed but it may be too late to save our form of government. Donald has led us to the threshold of disaster. His whole political agenda is a path to dictatorship. He is not the answer to a greater America, he is the answer to a dictatorship.

The Constitution designed our government to function in a manner that was controlled by the people. Donald is destroying our Constitution that has served us so well for over 200 years. Our elected officials are all serving their own interests rather than the interests of the people who elected them. We may need another revolution to clean the government of corruption.